Jacques Von Lunen/Special to The OregonianErik Weeman, a Wieden+Kennedy graphic designer, brings Gordie, a viszla, to work with him.

It all began with a hungry cat looking for a home 13 years ago.

The cat chanced upon a seamstress from the Portland Opera, found a home at the opera costume shop and made everybody realize that work's less stressful with a purring princess named Nerissa around.

Today, the Portland Opera allows pets in the workplace.

It's not unusual to see a cat curled up in a bookstore window or a dog atop a store counter. But wet animal noses peeking out of office cubicles are still an anomaly, even though they provide stress relief.

At the opera's offices, Nerissa receives visitors with regal grace. Periodically, employees pop into the costume shop to get a little kitty love.

Watching the smiles this furry staff member puts on co-workers' faces, it's easy to see why more bosses are relaxing the rules on pets. Recent polls by the American Pet Products Association found that one-fifth of employers nationwide now allow pets in the workplace.

Doing so makes perfect sense to the Portland Opera's general director. Witnessing Nerissa's impact on office morale has convinced director Christopher Mattaliano to open the door to other four-legged friends. Employees are now welcome to bring their dogs to work.

"I feel a happy staff is a productive staff," says Mattaliano, who's brought miniature schnauzers Tuxedo and Sammy to work on occasion. "This wonderful stray cat has changed all of our lives."

The schedule at opera headquarters gets hectic when a new production is in the works. During those times -- as during the recent run-up to "Rigoletto" -- Nerissa and the dogs that populate the upstairs offices provide much-needed diversion.

"During stressful times here, I get people coming in from a different floor just to connect with her," says Noelle Guest, the director's executive assistant, whose feisty Schipperke mix, Nell, reclines in a comfy chair next to her. "She has a fan base that is much larger than mine."

Having your dog next to you at work isn't just good for instant affection.

"I find that I focus more," says Rachel Kirley, the opera's annual fund manager, who brings her Labrador mix, Bela. "It's nice to have him here so I know he's not lonely" at home.

Health benefits

Interacting with animals has been found to lower blood pressure and to help patients in therapy open up. Most likely the animals are glad not to be alone, too. Especially if they're going through hard times.

In the Portland Opera office hallway, Baby Doll, a pug sporting a pink coat, is performing a little dance, much to the delight of the employees gathered around her. It's hard to believe the little dog wasn't so happy not that long ago.

"She used to have a little dachshund companion," says Dana Raymond, the opera's artist coordinator. "He died last summer and I tried to take away her grief by bringing her to work." Judging by the little dance, it's working.

Mattaliano asserts it's not all fun and doggie dances.

"It sounds like I run a rather loose organization, but the people at the opera are very dedicated and hardworking employees," he says. "It's not like a dog shows up and everyone puts down their work."

The employees may well be more dedicated and hardworking because of the dogs.

Employees who are supported in what social scientists call "nonwork" needs -- time for family, medical appointments and the like -- are usually happier with their organization, more supportive of it and less inclined to be absent, says Leslie Hammer, a professor at Portland State University who studies the psychology of people at work.

"Nonwork" needs

Pets certainly fall under that "nonwork" umbrella, she says.

"It's beneficial to employers to help people integrate work and nonwork," Hammer says. "People don't leave their nonwork lives at home."

While Hammer doesn't know of any research on pets in the workplace, she says pets are like family to many people, and employees who feel supported with family needs are known to perform better.

Mattaliano's first encounter with dogs at work was at New York's Metropolitan Opera, where director Franco Zeffirelli carried his tiny pooch, Bella, with him in a shoulder bag.

Thinking back to Zeffirelli at the Met -- where pets not owned by world-famous impresarios weren't welcome -- and to the deep bonds he sees at the Portland Opera, Mattaliano wonders about the connection between the love for art and the love for animals.

"This is a theory I'm making up on the spot," he says, "but maybe people that are drawn to opera are drawn to all of God's little creatures."

Maybe so, but across town, employees at a large company that has nothing to do with opera are just as drawn to the little creatures.

Wieden+Kennedy

On any given day, about 25 dogs nap in the cubicles of advertising giant Wieden+Kennedy, says Erik Weeman, a graphic designer with the firm.

Weeman and his wife, Dawn, an executive assistant at Wieden+Kennedy, bring Gordie, a young vizsla, to work with them. In fact, they wouldn't have added the lean pointer to their family had they not known that he would be with them all day, every day.

Now the 20-month-old bundle of energy provides comic relief to their surroundings.

"People brighten up when they come over to pet him," Dawn Weeman says. "He makes them laugh, which is a great stress relief."

"We try to have all of our employees' needs met at work when they work these long hours," says the agency's human resources manager, Mikael Kuhn. "It also gets people off their butts to go on a walk. They breathe for a minute and come back more productive."

Pets certainly make for a more relaxed office. As Erik Weeman and Gordie stroll through the departments, dogs of all stripes and sizes stick their heads into the aisle. Gordie stops to tussle with a puppy or sniff a friend. Then it's back to work. Gordie lies down on his pillow, and Weeman turns to the computer screen.

"I think (coming to work) makes them better dogs," Weeman says. "They just learn to relax when they see everybody working."

Some dogs assist Human Resources as well, apparently. Some time ago, an executive at the company was unpopular with the office dogs, who barked at him, and only him.

"It was a tell-tale sign," Weeman says with a grin. "The dogs voted him off the island."